


Partners

by Starbird



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Best Friends, Denial of Feelings, Didn't Mean for There to be This Much Angst, Drunk Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Missions, Partners in Intelligence, Rogue Squadron, Smut, So much angst, Young Cassian, Young Jyn, but here we are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-01 22:49:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11496384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starbird/pseuds/Starbird
Summary: An AU where Jyn and Cassian have been best friends growing up in the Rebellion and are now partners in Rebel Alliance Intelligence. They've become friends with benefits in the last month.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All right, I don't usually do AUs and my first attempt, my "Y Tu Mama Tambien" fusion, may not go anywhere, but I thought I'd try this. It was inspired by ["A Bad Idea"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11373489) by [Moonprincess92](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonprincess92/pseuds/Moonprincess92), as well as ["Relaxation Techniques"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11478468) by [ohmytheon](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon).
> 
> Also, yeah, I totally made up this planet they’re on after the evacuation of Yavin, because there’s no info on where they go as far as I can tell. If you find it, LMK, and I’ll change things.
> 
> **NEW Notes 4/30/18** A big, huge thank you to the kind readers (and friends) who supported this work and asked when I would be coming back to it. I had been prepared to step away from it for a long while, since other ideas had cropped up and this one got pushed lower and lower on my priority list, but every once in a while, I would get a comment on it, and that made me smile. So now, I am coming back to it. It’s one of my earlier pieces (started just 2 months after I joined the fandom), so it needs tweaking. I’d change the beginning if I could, because I remember that it was supposed to start out with them becoming FWB, not _already_ FWB, but too late now. Ah, well. Live and learn! On we go.
> 
> You guys are the greatest. <3

Sergeant Jyn Erso peered through the scope of her sniper rifle and took a deep breath, holding it in to steady her body and her hands. She felt the world go quiet around her. She lined up her target.

She squeezed the trigger.

“Almost there,” came the heavily accented voice in her ear. “Not quite.”

 _Stang._ “Yeah, I knew that,” she said into her comlink. “I’m aware, thanks.”

“Move on to the next one.”

“I’m not new at this, but thank you again.”

Jyn moved on to the next target in the training exercise and stowed the rifle, pulling out another weapon once the rifle was locked in place. This part, she aced, and moved on to the next bit, close-quarters hand-to-hand fighting, which she knew she had top marks in. Her truncheons made easy work of the targets.

“That’s it,” came the voice again. “Head back in.”

Jyn didn’t rush back to base. The night was pretty and quiet except for the gricklefrogs making their loud, warbling croaks, and some nightflockers in the sky. Stars were sprinkled across the sky, as if flung there by some mighty hand, and the three moons shone dimly above. Jyn yawned and checked the time. 0237.

Ten minutes later, the doors of the base swished open. Jyn headed over to Rebel Alliance Intelligence’s section and to one of the conference rooms, where she knew her progress had been monitored. The couple ranking officers above her who would be evaluating her later had left, and the only other person who remained in the room was her partner, Captain Cassian Andor.

“Mostly good work,” he said, scrolling through the report on his datapad. “Your sniper work needs – ”

“Yeah, I can read a report myself,” she clipped, snatching the datapad from him and sitting on the edge of the table. She glanced through it – all top marks, except for the sniper part. She had never been that good at it, and when they had to do it on missions, she left it up to Cassian. She didn’t particularly care if her scores in that area were low on her recertifications.

Jyn shoved the datapad back across the table to Cassian. “It’s stupid anyway,” she said. “We don’t all have to be experts at everything.”

“We should be,” he said. “What if you go out into the field by yourself?”

Jyn shrugged. “I don’t intend to.”

“But you might _have_ to.”

“But I don’t _intend_ to. And I don’t report to you.”

He sighed, knowing better than to press the conversation. “We might have something coming our way. Briefing with Draven tomorrow at oh nine hundred.”

Jyn nodded and slid off the table. “Got it.”

“I’ll walk you back to your quarters.”

“I don’t need an escort.”

“You are impossible to work with,” Cassian said.

“I know,” Jyn replied with a smile, looking up at him as they left the room. “That’s why we work so well together.”

\---

They didn’t walk to Jyn’s quarters, which she shared with another intelligence officer. Instead, they walked to Cassian’s, the destination they’d both had in mind all along. He tapped the codes in, and she walked in with him. Immediately, she rubbed her arms.

“Brrr,” she said. “They need to fix the air con here.”

Cassian took her hand and pulled her close to him. “Your scores really are terrific,” he said. “You might even get a promotion soon. Have a team under you – ”

“Let’s not talk about work,” Jyn said, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him, which she’d been dying to do all day, cutting off anything else he might say. Already the day had dragged on too long, and she’d been anxious to get back to his quarters since early afternoon. The stress of recertifications had been making her antsy for days now – she didn’t want to let her best friend and partner down, even though she knew she’d pass – and Cassian had been unavailable for the majority of those days, wrapped up with his own recerts and officers’ duties. It was no secret among the upper echelons of Command that Cassian was General Davits Draven’s favorite, and Draven certainly kept him busy.

Jyn let a slow breath out through her nose and tried to relax against Cassian’s body, but something was off.  He kissed her back, but his kisses were light, tentative, even though he’d taken her to his quarters – which he didn’t have to share with anyone else, given the privilege of his rank. He didn’t respond to her probes with her tongue, refusing to open his mouth and grant her access to push the kiss deeper. He’d pulled her close earlier, but…he didn’t seem to want to actually _be_ close.

“Jyn,” he said, in between kisses. “I have to talk to you about something.”

“Uh huh,” she replied as she pushed his jacket off. He didn’t exactly resist, but he wasn’t enthusiastic, either. “I’m listening.”

“We have to stop this. People are starting to talk.”

“So let them talk.” She untucked his shirt from his pants, then pulled her own shirt off over her head. “You really want to give this up?” She grabbed his hands and put them on her breasts. He took in a sharp breath in reply and squeezed lightly. Jyn hooked one elbow around his neck, her other hand working to get his pants undone and her legs moving them back to his bunk. “We have a good thing here. I rely on you, you rely on me, we’ve been friends for as long as we’ve been in the Rebellion… So what if we blow off a little steam?”

“I know, but….” This time, he really did stop, and held up his palms to her chest to stop her. She looked him in the eye, and even though he had on his spy’s face, she could read right through it with her own training. The training he’d given her himself when he’d first recruited her over to Intelligence from the army a couple years ago.

Not only that, but she knew him too well after all these years. She could see the tiny knit in his brow: he was conflicted.

“We’re good partners,” he said. “I don’t want to mess that up.”

Jyn rubbed down his arms, from his shoulders to his wrists. “I know,” she said quietly. Then she looked up and gave him a smile. “I also know the Rebellion comes first. For both of us. We’ve both agreed to leave the other behind if the situation calls for it. We get it. That’s why this _works_.”

Cassian sighed and sat on the bunk, arms crossed over his knees, avoiding her gaze. Jyn wished he didn’t look so appealing. He’d never been a big guy – never would be – and she liked him like that. His chest had light definition, curves that hinted at muscle underneath that wasn’t overt but that could be used in any situation, and his frame made people underestimate him immediately. He was Draven’s best spy, and there were good reasons for it.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Jyn said into the silence, giving him a shrug. She picked her shirt up off the floor and put it back on. “That’s what we agreed to, right, when this started happening last month? That the Rebellion still comes first? It’s still better than what we were doing before, though, sleeping with other spies.”

“And the pilots,” Cassian said. “You do like the pilots.”

“Yeah, well, they have a tendency to die, so it never matters.”

Cassian snorted a quiet laugh.

“What, like I’m wrong?” Jyn said, a smile on her face. “I know _your_ type, Cassian. You still stay with the spies. The new ones.”

“And half the time they never come back,” he said. “Just like your pilots.”

“At least I have Bodhi vet them,” Jyn said. “I get the good ones.”

Cassian smiled again. He still wasn’t looking at her. “Go on,” he said, waving her off. “Go to sleep.”

“No, I’m going to go pick up a pilot,” Jyn said, making her way to the door. “Recerts are stressful. You won’t give me what I need. I’ll find it elsewhere.”

“Just be ready for the briefing in the morning.”

“Absolutely. Goodnight, Captain.”

“Goodnight.”

As the door shut behind her, Jyn could swear she saw regret in his eyes.

\---

The pilots were a hard-drinking bunch. Jyn found a group of them in the base’s cantina doing shots despite the late hour. When she walked in, Luke Skywalker grabbed her wrist.

“Not tonight,” he warned. “Stay away.”

“What for?” she asked. She indicated the table the pilots occupied. “One of them owes me a favor. I’ve come to collect.”

“They’ve had a lot to drink,” Luke said. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I never get hurt,” Jyn said with a smile. Luke gave her _that look_ he always did, blue eyes all serious, lips pursed. Her smiled died.

“You do get hurt,” he said quietly. “Even when you think you don’t.”

Jyn gave him another smile, but this one was forced. “I won’t get hurt tonight.” She laid her hand over his. “Promise. I’ll stick with Bodhi.” She glanced over at the table. Bodhi didn’t look like he was doing too well. “In fact, I’ll take Bodhi back to his quarters.”

Luke sent his own glance over. “Good idea.” He patted Jyn’s hand, even though he was younger than her and the gesture seemed like one she should be giving him, and left the cantina. Jyn headed over to the table.

“Okay, Bodhi,” she said, grabbing him by his armpits and hauling him up out of the booth. “Time to go.”

“No, no, no,” he said. “I’ve almost won this round!”

“These guys are a _bad_ influence,” she replied, sending a scathing look around at Wes Janson, Derek “Hobbie” Klivian, and Tycho Celchu. Where Wedge Antilles was, she didn’t know, but most likely he was working away at forming Rogue Squadron. The man never quit. He was like Cassian. Dedicated till the day he died.

“Finish it off, then,” Bodhi said, sweeping his hand over the tops of the full shot glasses. “Five more to go. Bothawui vodka.”

Jyn wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”

“Suddenly she’s a lady,” Janson said with a laugh. He elbowed Hobbie in the ribs, and the other pilot laughed with him.

“Having good taste in alcohol doesn’t mean I’m a _lady_ ,” Jyn said, dropping down into the booth. Bodhi swayed dangerously. “It means I don’t waste my time on junk alcohol. But fine. If we’re playing it this way.” She glanced up at her friend. “Bodhi, you okay?”

He waved vaguely at her, eyes half closed. “Fine, fine,” he said. “I wasn’t going to win anyway.”

Janson leaned in. “He didn’t touch any of it. Beat me, and I’ll owe you another favor.” He winked, and Jyn made a face. It was all in fun, though. These guys were some of her favorites, and she knew they would be there for her if she ever needed anything.

Hobbie began the countdown. “In five, four, three, two, one, GO!”

Jyn began taking the shots and turning the glasses over as quickly as possible. In the end, she did beat Janson, and she breathed heavily as she stared the handsome pilot in the eye.

“Cockiness is reserved for us pilots,” Janson said. “Don’t get too confident. Another round?”

“Sure,” Jyn said. “But you’re letting me pick the poison.”

\---

It was past 0400. Jyn pounded on Cassian’s door, but he wouldn’t answer.

 _“Cassian fucking Andor!”_ she yelled. “Open this Sith-damned door right – ”

The door slid aside and he yanked her in. “You do realize what time it is,” he said as he slapped the closer.

“I do,” she replied. “I did not find a pilot.”

“Sorry. Now get out.”

Jyn shook her head and walked toward him, backing him into his bunk until his legs hit it and he sat down abruptly, staring up at her.

“Jyn, I swear to – ”

“Shh,” she interrupted in a whisper. She leaned down to him as she lowered herself to straddle his lap. “You talk too much when you’re nervous.”

“I’m never nervous,” he fired back.

“You are nervous,” she whispered. “Right before you fuck me.”

He turned his head in an annoyed gesture. “Jyn, enough with this – ”

But she turned his head back with her hand and pressed her lips against his. He didn’t even argue or push her away, just threw his arms around her and pulled her back with him to lie on the bunk, his hands already under the back of her shirt.

“Get this off,” he said in a hoarse voice. Jyn sat up on his lap, and it was only seconds before she’d shucked the shirt off over her head. Arms still wrapped around her, Cassian leaned up and pressed kisses into her belly. His erection pressed against her bottom, and Jyn grabbed his head to force him closer to her stomach. His hands grabbed at her pants, pushing them and her underwear down at the same time. Jyn kicked her boots and pants off, leaving her naked in front of him. In seconds she’d divested him of his clothes, and she waited while his hands worked quickly to put the condom on. She always got contraceptive shots, but they were doubly careful anyway.

Once he was ready, Jyn took hold of him and guided him into her just a tiny bit. Then she took him in slowly, watching his face as he slid in.

“See?” Jyn whispered as she began to move over him. “You didn’t really want to miss this, did you?”

“No,” he breathed, his head on her chest. He pulled her legs further around his back, and she crossed her ankles behind him, pushing him deeper. The walls of the base’s quarters were thin, causing them to be quiet and speak in whispers – when they did speak at all during the act. It seemed there was always someone around, or something they had to be cautious of. Jyn wished they could let loose sometime…although the way Cassian was talking, the doubt in his voice, made it sound like “sometime” was not going to happen. Even if they did have incredible sex.

“Come on, come on,” she urged into his ear, her arms wrapped tight around his shoulders, fingers digging in. Cassian’s breathing changed as he moved faster, and she held on, eyes squeezed shut.

He made almost no noise when he came – just little sounds he tried to hold back – again because of their constant proximity to other people. Jyn wanted to hear that, too. Hear what he _really_ sounded like when he felt ecstasy. Their rocking slowed, and she tangled her fingers in his hair. Once it was over, she laid her cheek on his shoulder and hugged him…but it was an embrace more of friendship than that of lovers, even though he was still inside her, intimately connected.

The thing was, as good as their sex was, and as much as it did relieve their stress, a small part of Jyn was always disappointed in the end. When it was over, they usually talked about work and caught up on things around base while they waited for their heartbeats to slow, never looking at each other, and then they got dressed in silence (the times they bothered to undress at all). It was quick, efficient, impersonal. She craved the feeling of him going down on her, of his gorgeous face between her legs and his mouth on her until she came. She craved his fingers inside her, touching her and exploring her, moving in and out faster and faster and making her even wetter. She craved him inside her mouth, bringing moans from him and making him come for her. She craved _some_ form of intimacy, even if the only feelings involved were that of deep and lasting friendship.

This time was no different than all the others. They moved apart from each other, and Jyn picked her clothes up from the ground and dressed. Standing up, her eyes on the ground, she tucked her hair back with her hands and said,

“So, um, I’ll see you at the briefing tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Cassian said. She could see him pulling his sleep pants up in her peripheral vision. “Stop for caf first.”

“Will do. ’Night.”

“’Night, Jyn.”

She let herself out and walked through the silent halls of the base. Other than rebels patrolling, she saw no one. When she finally got into bed, she curled up under the covers, the world still drifting to the side with inebriation, her mind still in a fog from the aftereffects of lovemaking. Parts of it did bug her, sure, but it was so much better than what they were doing before, right?

 _Wrong,_ she thought. _This is just stupid._

It wasn’t that there were _feelings_ involved; it was just that it wound up being such a letdown.

 _Guilt,_ she realized. Or maybe… _shame._ Something.

 _But something I can figure out later,_ she thought as she closed her eyes. _If I fall asleep on Draven, I’m out of Intelligence for good. And Cassian will never let me live it down._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, guys...thoughts? This first chapter went a different way than the way I'd hoped, but, eh, conflict, right?
> 
> P.S.: But doooon't worry. I ONLY do HEAs, so this will end happily like all my other work. :) Spoiler, maybe, but I just plain don't do sad stuff!! (I say as I live and breathe "Rogue One," but you know what I mean!! xo)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it all got started in the first place, plus some backstory on Jyn and Cassian’s early years in the Rebellion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for their kind comments and all the kudos and subscriptions and bookmarks! Wow, guys! I mean really…WOW! You all are fantastic!! I’m so glad you like this. <3

_The First Time_

_It happened because their ship had been diverted for a week. By the fifth day, when they were supposed to have been back to base three days ago, they were getting on each other’s nerves. Jyn sat in her chair with her knees up, eating her breakfast out of bowl, and apparently she was crunching too loud._

_“Do you mind?” Cassian said. “I’m trying to read.”_

_With an extra-loud crunch, Jyn said, “The same stuff you’ve been reading for the past two days? I do mind, actually.”_

_He eyed her bowl. “Our rations aren’t going to last forever. Maybe you could cut back a little…?”_

_“Are you trying to tell me I eat too much?”_

_“I believe he is trying to tell you that,” K-2SO called from the cockpit._

_“Thank you, Kay,” Cassian called back. To Jyn, he said, “No. We just need to be careful.”_

_“Time to cannibalize Kay?” Jyn suggested._

_“I heard that,” Kay replied. “You cannot eat me.”_

_“Yeah, it was a joke, Kay,” Jyn called, craning her neck to see the droid. “I would never eat you.” She looked back at her meal. “I’d put you in the airlock first,” she muttered._

_“What’s your problem?” Cassian said. “Now you’re taking it out on Kay?”_

_Jyn raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”_

_“You don’t have to be rude.”_

_“I’m not being rude. I’m making a joke. Lighten up.”_

_Cassian scoffed. “I never ‘lighten up.’”_

_“No. Fucking. Kidding.”_

_Jyn finished her meal and got up to put her dish in the sanitizer. She stopped by the cockpit afterward and braced her hands on the doorway. “I am ever so sorry, Kaytoo. I meant no offense.”_

_“You did,” he said, “and you do now. I can tell from your tone.”_

_“You’re something else.”_

_“I am a reprogrammed Imperial security droid. Unique in every way. Definitely ‘something else’ than what I was intended for.”_

_“Really?” Jyn said in mock surprise. “I had no idea. Except for every time you tell me, which is at least once a day when I see you.”_

_“That is patently untrue,” Kaytoo said, his indignation rising. “Would you like to hear the actual statistics?”_

_“I would not.” Jyn turned around and walked away. “I’ll be in my cabin if anyone needs me. Which you won’t.”_

_Once she got there, she flung herself on her bunk and stared up at the ceiling, hands behind her head on the pillow. She was thoroughly annoyed. Other than a risky but necessary stop for fuel at a barely neutral outpost in a system she didn’t know the name of, they’d been in hyperspace the whole time. She didn’t like being grounded on base, but being stuck in hyperspace on a tiny ship with one other person and a droid was much worse. At first it had been nice. She and Cassian hadn’t gotten to spend time together like that since they were in their teens and younger. He was sixteen, she was thirteen, and he’d just gotten recruited into Intelligence by Draven. After that, she didn’t see him as much. He began taking on more responsibilities, he was gone all the time, and their paths didn’t cross as much. Still, they always found time for one another when they were on base together, always managed to find the other, and always spent as much time together as they could. Jyn had other friends, but when Cassian was around, she barely saw them at all. She wanted every moment she could have with her best friend, and with him alone. They clicked in a way she never had with someone. They’d been each other’s rocks in the tumultuous Rebellion, clinging to one another among the horrors of war. He’d already been in the Alliance for five years when she’d come to it as an eight-year-old. Her mother and father exposed as friends to the Rebellion and traitors to the Empire, and Jyn just barely escaping with the aid of Saw Gerrera, their friend, who had passed her off into the Rebellion’s hands._

_She’d cried almost all night that night._

_Until Cassian had found her, in a corner of the base by a high window, the white moonlight illuminating her. “Hey…” he’d said, approaching her cautiously. “You okay?”_

_Jyn had swiped at her nose and eyes and answered shortly. “No.”_

_Cassian had edged toward her, putting a hand out to indicate the ground beside her. She’d given him a shrug, and he’d sat. “I cried, too,” he said. “Now I just walk. I know this whole place. Better than anyone. I can get where no one else can get.” He shrugged. “I can show you.”_

_Because she had nothing better to do than to keep crying, and his invitation was a welcome distraction, she’d nodded. He’d put his hand out again, this time for her to take it._

_And she had._

_They’d been inseparable since._

_\---  
_

_Jyn woke up from her doze and groaned, rubbing her eyes. Checking her chrono, she saw it was mid-morning now. Still hours and hours to go before they reached home._

_She rolled over and went back to sleep._

_\---  
_

_The tension only got worse throughout the rest of ship’s day. Cassian and Jyn were now snapping at each over everything, and it was even starting to stress Kay’s circuits. Finally, around 2100, he declared, “Goodnight to you both!” and shut himself down. Jyn and Cassian just stared at him._

_“I guess we were a little too much for him,” Cassian said._

_“I guess,” Jyn muttered. She had her hands in her vest pockets, index fingers sticking out, and tapped them against the fabric. “Look, we’re both tense, but we shouldn’t be taking it out on each other.”_

_Cassian rubbed a hand over his tired face. “Right.”_

_Jyn was tired, too. Tired, tense, stressed out, irritated, with no way to relieve all that pressure inside her. Cassian obviously felt the same. Intelligence had taught them a large variety of techniques to handle these feelings, and they’d gone through extensive training on that topic alone. But this…this was excessive. They’d tried absolutely everything. Nothing was working at this point._

_Jyn looked up from the floor, looking at Cassian sidelong._

_Actually…there was one thing they_ hadn’t _tried yet._

 _On the face of it, it was totally crazy. It was inappropriate, it was fraternization, and it was a terrible idea for a whole host of reasons. But nobody had to know, and Kay was shut down, and he wouldn’t have told anyone anyway even if he’d been powered up. Both Jyn and Cassian were used to relieving stress through quick hookups and one-night stands with other Rebels; what was the harm with doing the same with your own partner and best friend, someone you trusted more than any other? It wasn’t like it would get complicated or weird. They both had buried all of their emotions deep down a long time ago, so there was no fear of_ what if this ruins our friendship _or_ what if I fall in love with you _or any of that nonsense. They simply didn’t have it in them to feel that way. Both of them knew that even though they cared for one another deeply, even that feeling could be put aside for the sake of the cause, and if the cause went that deep in their blood that they’d even cast the other aside for it, surely sleeping together just this once wouldn’t cause any harm._

_Jyn looked down at the floor again, tapped her fingers again, tried to figure out how to approach this. In the end, she just sighed, grabbed Cassian’s hand, and dragged him along to her cabin. She shut the door, and he’d barely said, “Jyn, what – ” before she’d taken his face into her hands and kissed him. He pulled away immediately._

_“What are you doing?”_

_Jyn shrugged. "We’re stressed,” she said. “I’m relieving stress.”_

_“By_ kissing _me? I don’t think so.” He turned away to leave, but Jyn pulled him back. He looked her in the eye, his expression one of disbelief and shock._

 _“Cassian,” she said. “Nothing else is working. We’re about to tear each other to pieces, and we still have two more days left.” She began quickly untucking his shirt. Despite the expression on his face, he didn’t resist. “I know you’re thinking. I can hear you processing. I need you to_ stop thinking _and kiss me right now.”_

_So he did, and that had been that._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mission and aaaaaaannnnggsssttttt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m recycling a character, Danali Malcomb, from “Then,” who I never fully realized in that fic. Hope that’s okay.

Jyn woke up to her alarm going off for the third time and threw the thing across the room. It banged against the door and fell to the floor, still beeping. Groaning at her headache, Jyn dug her way out of her covers, shivering in the overly air conditioned room, and began to dress.

“You look like hell,” Lieutenant Danali Malcomb said when Jyn walked into the refreshers.

“Yeah?” Jyn shot back. “So do you.”

Danali smiled. “Late night?”

“Recerts.”

Danali wrinkled her nose. “The worst.”

Jyn pressed her fingertips to her temples. “I need painkillers.”

“I’ve got some in my room.”

“Do I smell like the cantina? I don’t have time for a shower.”

Danali stuck her toothbrush in her mouth and leaned over as Jyn brushed her own teeth. “A little,” she said. “Not bad. Why?”

“Briefing with Draven,” Jyn said, not liking what she saw in the mirror. She looked exhausted and, well, hungover.

“Ah,” Danali sympathized. “Well, good luck with that one.”

“I guess he won’t be smelling me. At least, I hope not. I just need to look a little more put-together.” Jyn checked the chrono on the wall and swore. “I am not gonna make it in time if I grab caf from the mess.”

“Probably worth the risk, though.” Danali glanced at Jyn in the mirror. “You look like you’re about to fall back asleep.”

Jyn groaned and hurried out of the refreshers to drop her toiletries off at her room, then dashed to the mess. She was five minutes late to the briefing, and Cassian, standing off to the side of the table with his arms crossed, gave her the same look he always did when she was late: _I am judging you._ She rarely ran late, especially to briefings and important things, but sometimes, it just happened.

“My apologies, General,” Jyn said, inclining her head to Draven. He didn’t look even remotely about to accept that apology.

“Late night?” he asked, same as Danali. “Might want to start keeping a better schedule, perhaps, Erso?”

“I appreciate the suggestion, General,” she replied. She even sounded like she meant it.

Draven then got right down to business. “This one won’t be pretty,” he said. “I need you both to go to Balmorra to the executive offices of their weapons manufacturing companies and release toxins into their air supply. It’ll be a painless death, and it’ll spare the lives of billions in this war. There’s more information in your mission briefing reports.”

Cassian and Jyn exchanged a glance. “When do we ship out?” Cassian asked.

“Your ship still needs some major repairs, so it won’t be until tomorrow morning,” Draven said. “We have put this particular business off far too long as it is, but another day won’t matter in the end. Get ready to go, familiarize yourselves with the details, and get some rest. You’ll need it.”

He dismissed them, and Jyn and Cassian walked down to the level below, where the offices were located. Cassian sat down in his chair and pulled the briefing up on his console. The hologram shimmered in the air. Jyn perched herself on the corner of his desk and peered at it.

“I don’t like this,” she said, reading over the details.

“It doesn’t matter if you like it,” Cassian replied curtly.

She didn’t reply, because what she said didn’t matter, either. The people working at that company could very well be innocent, and yet they all had to die, according to the Alliance. Her parents had been innocent, too, and could have been targets of the Rebellion any day. Who knew what the Rebellion would strike next? What was always certain was that they struck _fear_ into the hearts of innocents living under the Empire’s rule, people who believed the status quo was fine, that the Empire made life easier, that the Rebellion was full of zealots. The Rebellion terrified people forced to work for the Empire even more than it worried the Empire.

Jyn didn’t like to think about how terrified her parents must have been, of both the Rebellion _and_ the Empire. Either side could have killed them. The Rebellion could have ended their lives, never knowing they were helping it, and the Empire likely would now, too, knowing they were traitors.

Jyn quickly passed her hand across her brow, as if she could wipe the thoughts from her mind.

“Seems straightforward enough,” she said. “Sabotage, pure and simple. Get in, get out.”

Cassian nodded and shut the file down. “I still have things to do before we leave. Lunch?”

“Yeah,” Jyn said with a nod. “I hear it’s a soup bar.”

Cassian made a face. “A soup bar…? I’m supposed to get through the rest of my day on _soup_?”

“Oh, you were not complaining that time I blackmailed Chef Arnistram into making you that disgusting poultry broth soup when you were sick for a week straight. It took me six months to get back into his good graces, and you were _intolerable_ that entire time you were sick.”

“Me?!” Cassian looked indignant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was _sick_.”

“Yeah,” Jyn said, picking up one of his styluses and twirling it around her fingers. “A sick _man_.”

“I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You’re the one – ”

“Who didn’t want to see you die of carrier pox because you refused to go to the clinic? No, I certainly didn’t. Selfish of me to want to keep you and your awful company around, but what can I say, I’m a masochist.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Don’t listen to the gossip around here, Captain,” Jyn said, throwing the stylus at his chest. “It’s terrible.”

“Unless you get it from Danali,” he said.

“Unless you get it from Danali,” Jyn agreed. “Yes.”

“I have work to do, and you’re talking about gossip. Get out of here.”

Jyn held up her hands and slid off his desk to head toward the door. “I’m going, I’m going, sheesh. You have no manners.”

“Right. See you at lunch?”

Jyn turned back around with a smirk on her face. “Unless I decide to eat with the pilots.”

She felt the stylus hit her back on the way out, and her smirk widened.

\---

When Jyn walked into the mess at noon, Cassian wasn’t there yet. She waited in line for food, and when she left the line, Cassian still hadn’t arrived.

Her pilot friends, however, _were_ there.

Jyn thought about the night before. Cassian’s rejection. How she’d still gone back to him anyway after drinking with the pilots. The awkwardness and loneliness that always came afterward.

She made a split-second decision.

“Hey, guys,” she said, sliding onto the bench next to Hobbie.

“Who said you could sit with us?” Janson asked in mock indignation.

“Myself,” Jyn said as she grabbed a bag of crisps off his tray.

“We actually were conducting business,” Wedge said. Jyn raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

“So?” She opened the bag with a loud crackle. “Conduct away.”

Wedge frowned. “It’s classified squadron business.”

“Yeah, I got that part.”

“As in, not for outside ears.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m terrible at keeping secrets.”

The leader of Rogue Squadron sighed. _“As I was saying,”_ he continued with a sidelong look at Jyn, “the smart move would be to recruit pilots from a variety of planets to show inclusiveness.”

“I vote for someone from the Tierfon Yellow Aces,” Tycho said.

“No one from Thyferra,” Janson put in. “I can’t stand those people.”

“It’s probably going to happen,” Wedge said. “Bacta production.”

Janson groaned. “Fine. Then I want an Ewok wingman.”

 _“I’m_ your wingman!” Hobbie whined.

“Well, maybe I want an Ewok now. A _girl_ Ewok. I hear _yub, yub,_ and I tell you, I just turn to jelly.”

“All right, gross,” Jyn said, standing up. “And boring. I’d rather listen to Draven drone on all day than hear this. Just as long as you keep those cocky Corellians out of your squadron, I think you’re good.”

“Emphasis on _cock_ ,” Janson said.

“Good _bye_ , Jyn,” Wedge said, not looking at her. There was a smile small at the corners of his lips, and Jyn smiled back. She hadn’t yet finished her lunch, so she walked over to where Cassian now sat alone and plunked her tray down.

“It’s overcooked,” she said, indicating the burger on his tray. “Good thing they had options besides the soup bar.”

“Have fun with the pilots?” Cassian asked.

“Always,” Jyn replied before taking a giant bite of her burger. It tasted moderately okay despite being overcooked. She wiped her hands on her napkin. “They’re a fun bunch,” she said around the burger. “You should come out with us for a drink sometime.”

“I’ve told you before: not interested.”

“Your loss.”

Cassian shot a glance over at the group. “My loss because I won’t wind up taking one of them home? Hardly.”

Jyn wasn’t at all phased by the insult. “I only do that when I’m stressed. But Janson does owe me a favor.”

“Oh, yeah? What favor’s that?”

“The most amazing oral sex a girl could ask for,” Jyn replied. Cassian made a face.

“Nice, Jyn,” he said, lifting up the bun of his burger. He didn’t look happy with what he saw for toppings.

“It _is_ nice,” Jyn said, and then added in a low voice, “It’s not like I’m getting it from you.”

Cassian ignored that. “So what did you do to deserve this favor?”

“I helped him out with something,” Jyn said. “Got his X-wing bumped up on the maintenance schedule.”

Cassian gaped at her. “You _hacked_ into the maintenance schedule?”

Jyn shrugged and finished off her burger. “It was no big deal, and it didn’t hurt anything.”

“Jyn! That’s a chargeable offense!”

“Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t tell anybody about it.”

Cassian sighed. “So he owes you this _favor_ now. Any chance you could convert it to something useful for Intelligence?”

Jyn barked a laugh. “Ha! Oh, Cassian, that’s one of the things I love about you: you’re always work, work, work. I have literally _no_ interest in giving this _favor_ over to you.”

“I didn’t say _me_ , I said _Intelligence_ ,” Cassian replied.

Jyn felt her face warm a bit. “That’s what I meant, obviously,” she fired back. Then she raised her eyebrows and turned her expression into innocence. “What, you have a problem with this? Janson and I are nothing new.”

“No, I don’t have a problem with it,” Cassian said, turning back to his food. “We had our talk, and it’s fine.”

“ _You_ had our talk,” Jyn said. “We agreed when this started that it would be a _mutual_ end. It wasn’t.”

“It wasn’t a _mutual_ beginning.”

Jyn held up her hands. “Well, I am so sorry I forced you into it. You could’ve said _no_.”

Cassian didn’t say anything for a moment, poking at his food with his fork. “I should’ve,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, you probably should’ve,” Jyn said. She gathered up her trash, crumpling her napkin into a tight ball. Then she rounded on him. “You know what? I have a good idea. _You_ need stress relief. So why don’t you go find that idiot you were banging for weeks, that, that, that…what’s-her-name?”

“Serena,” Cassian said, “and she’s not an idiot. She’s the same rank as me. And the only thing causing me stress right now is you!” He leaned close to Jyn, and she could see him struggle to hold onto his anger. “We said this wasn’t going to get complicated. You’re making it complicated.”

“ _You_ made it complicated,” Jyn hissed, her own anger rising. “ _You_ called it off for no reason whatsoever when it was _working_. Now all you’ve done is made me _angry_.”

“Yeah?” Cassian retorted. “You’re mad? Maybe you should do something about it.”

“Like _what_?” Jyn spat.

“ _I_ have an idea.”

They looked at each other a second longer, then got up at the same time, dumped their trays, and hurried along the familiar path back to Cassian’s quarters.

\---

Once safely behind a locked door, they started pushing each other’s clothes off immediately and kissing sloppily.

“You pissed me off last night,” Jyn said, missing his mouth and kissing next to it instead. “You didn’t _have_ to do that.”

“People _are_ talking,” Cassian replied. He untucked her shirt and pulled it off over her head, then gathered her in his arms to undo her breast band at the back. Jyn lowered her arms and let it slide off, then slung it to the floor. “We can’t risk that.”

“This whole Rebellion is a risk.” Jyn yanked his shirt off, then knocked him down onto his bunk and climbed on top of him. “Some risks are worth taking.”

“They’ll separate us,” he said as his hands fell to her waist and his hips moved up into her. She flattened her hands on his stomach and pushed back hard, and he groaned. Not wanting to waste any more time, she undid both their pants, and both got them off and onto the floor.

Cassian rolled her over onto her back and reached into his side table for a condom. Jyn waited in irritation as he put it on, knowing it was good to be doubly protected but frustrated that they had to do this. She _had_ the shot, and it was over 99% effective. She didn’t care about the mess if they didn’t use a condom.

But her inner voice intruded: _You’ve made every other man use one._

Well, she didn’t know the other men all that well. She wasn’t going to have them disease-tested, and furthermore, she didn’t want their release inside her. It just felt disgusting to her, for a one-night stand or even a regular partner like Janson, whom she’d slept with on and off for the past few years, to put a piece of themselves in her like that.

Cassian, though…

Jyn shook her head. _Stupid._ She shouldn’t care that much about something so trivial. Shit, Danali didn’t have any problems. She regularly talked about that sort of thing and what other things she enjoyed. Only Jyn seemed to have this hang-up.

Distracted by her thoughts, Jyn gasped when she felt Cassian enter her. But then she was used to him again, and even though she was still pissed, she felt some of the tension begin to melt away. He hit a different spot than usual, and she gasped again, this time in pleasure.

“Good?” Cassian asked.

“Kiss me,” Jyn blurted, and _immediately_ hated herself for losing her cool.

His eyes were on hers, but he didn’t lean down to kiss her. He never did when they had sex. Instead, he broke eye contact and dropped his head to her shoulder. Jyn felt her anger grow.

“You got a problem with that request?” she asked.

“Jyn, shh.”

“Don’t _shh_ me! What the fuck is your problem? Why are you so terrible at this?”

Cassian looked back up at her. “I can’t,” he said. “It’s too much.” He brushed hair away from her face in what was obviously supposed to be a tender gesture, but she was already _done_.

“Get off me.” Jyn shoved hard at his shoulders with the heels of her hands and moved away. Once she was free of his body, she snatched up her clothes and put them on as quickly as she could, her hands shaking.

“Jyn, wait – ” Cassian said from behind her.

“You know what, take care of yourself,” Jyn said. “Just…just…” She turned around to see him dressing. She folded her arms tightly and gripped her elbows to stop the shaking. “Just go fuck yourself.”

With that she left, and headed directly to Draven’s office. His aide, Private Memby, typed away at his desk outside.

“Help you, Sergeant?” he asked.

“Yes,” Jyn said, and took a deep breath to stop her voice from quavering. “I need to speak with General Draven immediately.”

“He’s in a meeting right now, but I can take a message. Can I tell him what this is concerning?”

“Yes.” She raised her chin. Her voice had steadied. “I need a new partner.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn and Cassian have angst and a mission, and then make up, because of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank yoooou to everyone still reading! And many thanks for all the lovely comments and all the kudos and subscribes!! You guys are awesome!!

“What the FUCK is this?!”

Jyn was not at all surprised by Cassian’s outburst when she got to his office and closed the door. He’d summoned her there in the middle of her breakfast, and she hadn’t even bothered bracing herself. She just couldn’t make herself care right now. They still had to go to Balmorra together; she’d worry about a new partner afterward.

“Keep going,” she said. “Shouting always makes things better rather than rational conversation between adults.”

In response, he murmured quickly to himself in Festian, and Jyn caught enough of it to understand how angry he was at her and that he didn’t know what to do with her and Force help him, _this time_ he was definitely done with –

“I can understand you, you know,” she said. Cassian stopped immediately and pulled his hands down his face.

“Jyn,” he said, hands still covering his eyes. “What. Is this.”

“What is what?”

“This summons from Draven regarding our partnership.”

“Oh, that.” Jyn crossed her arms and leaned back against his door. “People can only last so long together. I thought it was a good time for us to partner with other people. Since clearly things are a bit… _tense_ , shall we say…between us.”

Cassian’s hands dropped, and what did surprise Jyn was the hurt she saw in his eyes. “I’ll back anything you do. Always. But this…” He waved his hand helplessly over the datapad with the message on it from Draven. “You’re right. We should talk about it like rational people.”

Jyn dropped into the chair in front of his desk. “I’m listening.”

“You’re angry,” he said. “I know. I get it. I’m sorry. For my part in this. It’s not what I intended. It’s not what I meant. It’s not what I wanted. But the last thing I ever wanted was to be split up and parceled out. If that’s what you want, though…” Jyn waited a moment, while his eyes stared at a point she couldn’t see. Finally, he said, “I’ll support you.”

Jyn sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe I just need a break from Intelligence. It’s too much! All of it is. I’m just not sure I really have what it takes to do this. I’m a foot soldier; that’s what I’m best at. You’ve always been good at this sort of thing. This is your area, not mine.”

Cassian met her gaze again. “I think that’s being a bit rash. You are very good at what you do. Top marks, remember? We just…got a little sideways. We can get back on track.”

Jyn let out a breath and thought it over for a minute. He let her sit in silence. “This wasn’t supposed to get complicated,” she said.

“I know.”

“It got complicated.”

“I know.”

“We need to remove…the complication…from the equation. Go back to where we were before. Memory wipe and restore back to a month ago.”

Cassian gave her one of his small, rare smiles. “That sounds good to me.”

He didn’t look away, and even though Jyn had been furious at him the night before, and he with her only a few minutes ago, she felt his intensity burn her face.

She swallowed. _The night before._ “Um,” she said through a dry throat, “last night – ”

Cassian immediately waved it off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded, but he wasn’t looking at her again, his eyes focused on his datapad as he scrolled through messages. “I’ll need to figure out what to say to Draven.”

“Yeah. Right.” A thought was niggling at Jyn’s mind, burrowing deeper and deeper, and she couldn’t shake it. “Last night…did you…I mean…you didn’t…”

“Did I what?”

Jyn gathered her courage and braced herself for the answer. “Did you sleep with anyone else after I left?”

His head came up. “Jyn…” The way he said her name made it sound like…he couldn’t believe she’d ask that? “Of course not.”

“Well, I didn’t know,” she muttered, kicking at his desk.

“I just fell asleep. I was really tired.”

“Really. You were that tired.”

“Yes. I was about to fall asleep anyway. Believe me, I know when I’m a lousy lay.”

Without meaning to, Jyn laughed hard at his comment and let herself laugh until she was spent. Cassian looked amused, but not nearly as amused as she was at his expense.

“Oh, my,” Jyn said when she’d quieted down, wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry, but that, that’s incredibly self-aware.”

He shrugged. “Well, we can’t all have massive egos like Janson.” He checked his chrono. “We need to go soon. Grab your gear and meet me at the hangar. I’ll figure out something to say to Draven by the time we get back.”

* * *

The mission was, as Jyn had said, straightforward: she and Cassian broke into the weapons manufacturing offices in the dead of night, killed the guards, and hid the bodies. They split up to distribute the toxins in the air supply, and then they left. By midmorning the next day, all of the executives would be dead. Another spy who was deep undercover had sent out a bogus urgent meeting request months ago, and the executives’ attendance was all but guaranteed on the day the toxins would be released.

Jyn did not feel good about killing the underlings, the peons, who worked for the company. She tried to ignore the family holos she saw on desks.

 _War is never pretty,_ she thought, and turned away.

Both Rebels were silent as they walked through the woods behind the building and made their way to the ship, ten kilometers away at the spaceport. The woods were unforgiving, and the planet had no moon. It was overcast, so they had no starlight to see by. Jyn hit her malfunctioning torch as it flickered.

“Stupid thing,” she muttered.

That was when she tripped over a tree root, twisted her foot in it, and went down on her back in a pile of wet leaves.

Immediately, she felt dozens of bugs scramble down the neck of her shirt and start stinging her. She cried out and jumped up, untucking her shirt at the back and shaking it out. Cassian, noticing her distress, plunged his hand up under the shirt and began swiping the bugs out. Finally, Jyn felt no more stings, and she felt okay.

“What was that?” Cassian asked as they resumed their walk.

“Fell into a nest of nasty, stinging bugs, I guess,” Jyn said. “Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into something irritating.”

\--- 

Jyn didn’t cling very hard to that hope. They still had a kilometer left to go when the itching started. Her whole back itched, and she couldn’t reach most of it. By the time they got to the ship, she was about to go crazy. She threw down her gear, ran to the medpac, and grabbed the numbing anti-itch cream. Cassian gave instructions to Kay to get them back home, and then Jyn heard his footsteps coming toward her.

“Come in,” she called when he knocked on her door.

“Ouch,” he said when he walked in. Jyn had her shirt off and was trying to get the cream on her back.

“I haven’t looked at it yet,” she said. “And I don’t want to.”

“Probably best not to. Here.” He held his hand out, and Jyn put the tube of cream into it. The mattress dipped as he sat down behind her. “Guess it was too much to hope that those bugs wouldn’t cause any problems,” he said as he began gently rubbing the cream on her. Her breast band shifted as he moved it to get to the welts under it.

“Yeah. If this keeps up when we get home, I’ll have to go to the clinic.”

“How’s the cream feel?”

“Good. I can’t feel a thing when that stuff goes on.”

“Good.”

Cassian worked in silence, rubbing the cream into her back. He seemed to be taking longer than necessary, his fingers tracing soothing circles, but Jyn didn’t mind. It felt good to be touched like that. She heard him cap the tube and put it off to the side.

Then he cupped her shoulders in his hands and leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to the spot where her neck met her shoulder. He did it to the other side, and Jyn shivered. His fingers clenched just barely on her skin, and then they slid over her shoulders, up her neck, and back again. Jyn turned around on the bed, and his hands shifted around her to cup her shoulders again. Her eyes met his. Time seemed to slow.

Tentatively, he leaned closer to her, and she tilted her chin up to bring her lips to his in a slow kiss. Then he kissed her again, and again, each kiss building in intensity until his hands were touching every part of her and slipping under her breast band. She reached behind herself and fumbled with the fasteners, and once she was free of it, Cassian kissed her breasts, something he had never done before. Jyn leaned back on her hands, eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of her nipple in his mouth. His arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her body to his.

When he released her breast, Jyn moved her hands to his pants. “Take these off,” she said quietly.

“We said we were going to remove the complication,” Cassian said, but he didn’t stop her as she undid the closures, and he made no effort to hide his growing erection. His hand was on her cheek, but he was watching her hands work. “Reset our friendship. This is a terrible idea, Jyn.”

“It won’t get complicated again,” Jyn said. “Promise.”

“Wait, wait.” He quickly looked up, and Jyn did, too. He shook his head. “I don’t have anything with me.”

Jyn kissed him hard and began pushing his pants over his hips. “I don’t care,” she whispered. “I want you to come inside me. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” he breathed. “Force, yes.” He captured her lips again, just as hard as she’d kissed him, and helped her remove his pants.

When the moment did come, when he was between her legs and her knees were raised, and he was ready to guide himself into her, he caught her gaze again. “You’re sure?”

In response, Jyn reached down between them and added her hand to his, and they both guided him in. She lay back down on the pillow, and she heard his intake of breath, louder, almost surprised.

“Different?” she asked.

“Better,” he said. “Much better.”

“Me, too.”

And then he did what he had never done before: he kissed her as he began to move within her. His pace was slow, so slow, and Jyn rolled her hips up in time with his, and she’d never had sex like this before. She was so accustomed to fucking, and she knew Cassian was, too, but this…this was something different altogether. He kissed her lips, he kissed her nipples, he kissed her neck. He watched himself move within her. He kissed her lips again.

At some point, Jyn felt another different sensation, a new one: pressure, building deep within her, stepping up higher and higher with each of his deep, measured thrusts.

“Oh, Force,” she said before she could stop herself, when she realized what it was she was feeling.

“What, what?” Cassian asked.

“I’m going to come.”

His eyes went wide. “Shit, really?”

Jyn’s eyes, on the other hand, closed tight, and she clamped down on him. He groaned as she did, and she said, “Go faster. Faster.” He obeyed, and she felt the orgasm building and building and building until –

It exploded inside her and around her, and she cried out from the ecstasy. Her muscles clenched so hard her body arched up into his, and her fingers dug into his shoulders. She felt him turn his head and kiss her cheek, then press his own cheek against hers. Cassian’s pace increased more, she heard his breaths come harder, and she knew he was about to come, too.

This time, he didn’t hold himself back. He let her hear his pleasure, and she kissed him through it.

Jyn lay back on the pillow, panting, her hand on her forehead. Cassian collapsed next to her, and, of all things, he laughed.

“What?” Jyn asked with a smile, looking over at him. He was smiling, and he shook his head.

“Nothing, it’s just…”

Jyn turned her head away and looked up at the ceiling. The smile was still on her face. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](http://thestarbirdfromtheashes.tumblr.com)!


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